St. John’s Greek Life Brings School Spirit to Florida

Beyond the walls of St. John’s University, fraternities and sororities reunite in Florida. Not only will they share memories, but also enjoy the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Naples. The Office of Gift Planning and Alumni Relations welcomes back the school spirit illuminating from many, especially alumni from our University’s sororities and fraternities.

Alumnus Thomas Fitzpatrick ’69CBA, former president of Tau Kappa Epsilon, can’t wait to get together with his lifelong friends and fraternity brothers. When he went to St. John’s, a majority of students participated in Greek life. He believes the fraternity gave him a sense of community at the University, and still does.

“Every March before the St. Patrick’s Day parade a whole bunch of guys come down from New York and we go together,” Fitzpatrick said.

As a Bronx native, Fitzpatrick remembers watching the New York parade. Now, he brings friends with him to Naples, which he recounts is the most fun.

“Doing it all in a golf shirt in Florida is so much better than a scarf, boots, and overcoat,” he said. “It’s jammed packed and unbelievable!” Fitzpatrick ensures that Susan M. Damiani ’87CBA, Director of Gift Planning, and Mark Andrews, Director of Alumni Relations do a great job of getting alumni together. He has also met other fraternities and sororities from Sigma Pi and Delta Zeta.

Some alumni also gather their friends for the Naples weekend. Alumnus Donald T. McDonald ’73C ‘78MBA is one of them, as he currently lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. As a member of Pi Alpha Sigma, he gets everyone together within the Sarasota, Clearwater, and Tampa areas to join him for the events. About five of his fraternity brothers have moved to Florida in past years.

“It’s a great opportunity to meet with old friends and fellow alumni,” McDonald said. “In fact we have our fraternity reunion during the parade and cocktail party the night before.”

Alumna, Denise Sturm ‘68Ed, a proud member of Delta Zeta, takes the opportunity to go to this reunion and see the parade. Friends in Kappa, Gamma and a few other sororities also take part, while reuniting in Florida.

“The camaraderie [of seeing] people who I went to school with and to know the friendships have lasted all these years is tremendous,” Sturum said. “It’s a great event which makes me proud to see St. John’s show effort through Susan, to try to reach out to the alumni.”

He added, “It’s absolutely heartwarming to see people on the sidelines cheering for St. John’s.”